December 2012 MinneCulture Archives

In 1930, Sinclair Lewis became the first American to win the Nobel Prize in Literature. But in the early 1920s, Lewis, or “Red” as he was called, became a best-selling author with the publication of Main Street—an expose of small town life that celebrated its people while exposing its weaknesses. Lewis published 22 novels during his lifetime, but none matched the success of Main Street. Producer Britt Aamodt investigates the life of Sinclair Lewis, from his upbringing in Sauk Centre, Minnesota, to his death in Rome in 1951 from years of alcohol abuse.

Nurrudin Farah, in conversation with Zuhur Ahmed former host of the KFAI program “Somali Community Link”

Acclaimed writer Nurrudin Farah is finishing a three year stint at the University of Minnesota with a staged reading of his play, “A Stone Thrown At The Guilty” at Rarig Center at 7:30 pm this coming Friday and Saturday night, Dec. 7 & 8, 2012. In addition to winning many literary awards, Farah is a regular contributor to the New Yorker and the Op-Ed pages of the New York Times and Washington Post.

“Spider” John Koerner and Tony “Little Sun” Glover are the two surviving members of the influential blues and folk trio “Koerner Ray and Glover,” which formed in Minneapolis in the early 1960s and influenced a generation of blues and rock musicians with their albums “Blues Rags and Hollers,” “More Blues Rags and Hollers” and “The Return of Koerner, Ray and Glover.”

Deadbeats on the Air presents a radio theater event, “A North Shore Christmas Karol.” Part I
Britt Aamodt: Writer, Director, Producer

This adaptation of Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol,” in two parts is the familiar story has been modernized and set in Minnesota’s Arrowhead region. Gather ‘round the radio for a special Yuletide tale sure to warm your spirits for the holidays.

Deadbeats on the Air presents a radio theater event, “A North Shore Christmas Karol.” Part II
Britt Aamodt: Writer, Director, Producer

This adaptation of Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol,” in two parts is the familiar story has been modernized and set in Minnesota’s Arrowhead region. Gather ‘round the radio for a special Yuletide tale sure to warm your spirits for the holidays.

The History of Nicollet Island, Part I
Produced by Jessica Folker
Nicollet Island is the only inhabited island in the Mississippi River, and this leafy Minneapolis oasis has attracted a colorful crowd: gilded-age tycoons, train-riding vagabonds, hippies, and well-known musicians have all called the Island home. In the first of this two-part documentary, producer Jessica Folker explores the Island’s more distant past, beginning with its days as a safe place for expectant Dakota women. Christopher and Rushika Hage—a resident couple whose love for the Island spawned two books on its illustrious history—offer stories about mosquito-plagued pioneers, murderous maids, beer caves, and disastrous events that affected the entire city.